The Mystery of DM
by ShitaeTenshi
Summary: Two months after the Libra was destroyed, the other pilots realize they don't know Duo Maxwell as well as they thought they did. Warnings: Shounen Ai, maybe some OOC, dark themes COMPLETE
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Don't own Gundam Wing

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Heero woke instantly, his senses screaming at him. He held still, trying to figure out what had awoken him, his ears straining. Then he heard it; Duo was convulsing on the opposite bed, silently. Instantly by his side, Heero scanned Duo, trying to pinpoint the cause of the convulsion. The war had ended two months ago so it couldn't have been a new injury. If it was a nightmare then there would have been sounds to accompany the wild thrashing. This silence was unnerving. The look of pain on Duo's face finally snapped Heero into action. He swiftly climbed atop Duo, pinning him down and preventing most of his movement. "Duo! Wake up!" Heero yelled, hoping to startle the braided youth awake with his voice. From down the hall he heard two doors slam open as the other three raced to find out what was wrong.

Duo's thrashing continued, growing even wilder now that Heero was pinning him down. A corner of Heero's mind analyzed the situation, noticing a pattern in the convulsions. Duo acted as though his hands and feet were cuffed, forcing him open, spread eagle. With one massive shudder, Duo's eyes snapped open just as Trowa, Quatre and Wufei burst into the room. Heero started to lean back to allow Duo to sit up when the expression in his eyes stopped him. There was absolutely no recognition in them.

"Heero, what's wrong? Why are you holding Duo down?" Quatre asked as he approached the two teenagers. "What..." Quatre's voice froze as Duo glanced at him, his gaze then quickly taking in the others. Quatre felt a tiny spurt of fear; Duo had not recognized any of them. "Duo?" Quatre softened his voice, speaking as though to a frightened child. "Are you all right?" He slowly walked forward, trying not to scare Duo.

"Quatre, don't come any closer," Heero cautioned the blond Arab. Heero frowned as he looked down at Duo. The longhaired boy was trembling, face turned to the wall, eyes tightly shut. His mouth was moving, lips forming silent words, repeating the same phrase over and over. Heero's eyes narrowed when he read Duo's lips. (Big girls don't cry, big girls don't cry.) "We're not going to hurt you." Heero watched intently, looking for a reaction to his words. The trembling slowed but didn't completely stop. The silent chanting, however, continued. Heero slowly leaned back, releasing Duo's arms, still straddling the L2 boys upper thighs. The muscles in Duo's neck stood out, testament to the sheer amount of tension flowing through the boy. "What's your name?" Wufei snorted, starting to comment. Heero slashed a hand down, stopping the Chinese boy from saying anything, eyes never leaving Duo's face, watching intently for the reply.

Duo's arms had stayed in place after Heero released them. They twitched now, slowly rising until his hands hovered over his chest. The fingers flexed, moving in a strange pattern. Heero frowned; it was a form of sign language, one he wasn't familiar with.

Trowa cleared his throat. "Did you understand that, Heero?" The lanky teen kept his voice low.

Heero continued to frown. "No," he grudgingly admitted. "Did you?"

"Yes." Heero turned his head, looking shocked. "I suggest you join us over here. I doubt we'll have to worry about her hurting herself."

"What are you talking about, Barton? Maxwell just..." Wufei stopped talking at Trowa's head shake.

"Remember what his motto is? Never lie? Well, she just said her name is Diana." Heero froze in the middle of climbing out of the bed.

"Are you certain you got that correct?" Trowa nodded. Heero let out a sigh and ran one hand through his hair. "Then we have a problem." The four of them watched with various expressions as "Duo" curled up, clutching "his" knees close.

"Split personality?" Wufei suggested. "But why did his personality split now and not during the war?" He crossed his arms and leaned against a nearby wall.

Trowa shook his head again. "If it was a split or multiple personality then we should have seen other evidence by now. We ought to get someone with real medical training here. This is out of all of our depths."

Heero snorted. "Are there any doctors we can trust? Someone who won't take this story to the media? The uproar over finding out that the infamous Gundam pilots are all fifteen has finally started to die down. This will re-ignite it all."

"There is one doctor we can trust." Wufei spoke up. His gaze still rested on Duo's body. "Sally Po."

Quatre looked up, a smile of relief brightening his features. "Right. I'll contact her." Quatre moved over to the vidphone, his hand reaching out to start the call when the consol lit up. Someone was calling them. Someone who managed to get through their security. Quatre frowned before activating the voice, keeping the screen blank. He waited for the caller to talk, gesturing for the others to remain silent.

The faint clicking of metal gears came over the speakers, followed by a wheezing voice. "Well boy, aren't you going to turn on the video?" Four eyes widened. They knew that voice, a voice that one of them had, deep in his mind, prayed never to hear again.

Heero shook off his stupor and strode over. Leaning down, he activated the screen. Both he and Quatre could clearly see Doctor J. "What do you want?" Heero managed to ask between clenched teeth. "The war is over; there are no more missions!"

Doctor J frowned. "No effect, hmm? Do you feel alright, boy? No strange memories?"

Heero's eyes narrowed. "I'm fine. What have you done?"

Doctor J continued to frown. "Hmm. Someone was effected and if not you then who?"

A faint voice interrupted J. "I told you to check those co-ordinates!" Another familiar face joined J's on the screen. "Who else was in that room?" Professor G demanded.

A flurry of movement behind Heero and Quatre stopped their answer. The two then found themselves rudely shoved aside by ... Duo? His hands were once more moving in that unfamiliar sign language. Heero alternated his glance between "Duo" and G, wondering what the scientist would make of his pilot.

"What do you mean you can't call them? Both?" There was a pause as G read Diana's reply. "Dammit J! I told you not to put a lock on the new personality! Now Diana is stuck outside and can't call either of the other two to take her place! You are damnably lucky that the war is over; otherwise we'd be down a pilot." Diana's hands flew, forming a retort. "Yes Diana, I know you can access Duo's memories and knowledge, but you don't have the innate training that he does. Do you remember that safe house?" Diana nodded. "Good," G grunted. "If you start to feel overwhelmed head there immediately and contact me. J and I will work on repairing that machine of his. Meanwhile, you do what you can to call either of them." G looked thoughtful for a moment. "Although Duo would be preferred to Shinigami." Diana nodded again, still not speaking. "One more thing. The two who you pushed aside; one was J's pupil, the other was S's. Same as you and Duo were mine. You can trust those two, along with the other two pilots. Ask Duo, he'll vouch for them. I'll send the file to teach them this language." Diana's hands moved, interrupting G. "Oh? Alright then, have him teach the other three. Any changes let me know. Immediately. And Diana?" G's voice softened. "I meant it; you really can trust them." The screen went black as the call was terminated.

"Dammit!" Wufei suddenly cursed. "I almost had them."

Heero cleared his throat. "No luck with the trace?"

Wufei snarled. He had left the wall at one point and begun a trace program, trying to find out where the two scientists had called from. Wufei took a deep breath and slowly let it out, centering himself. "So, we know that Duo has multiple personalities, one of them is now in control due to a machine that J built and recently tested. G knew about these personalities yet still made Duo the pilot for Deathsythe. And Trowa here is the only one who knows the sign language that Diana uses. Did I miss anything?"

"I think that about sums it up," Quatre ruefully agreed. He glanced over at Diana. She was still facing the screen, her eyes vacant as they stared off into the distance. Quatre softly coughed. "Diana?" She visible jumped, her gaze instantly locked on Quatre. He kept his voice soft, falling back on the tone he used earlier. "What has Duo told you about us?"

Diana glanced at Trowa. He nodded, understanding her silent question. "I'll translate." Trowa glided over to stand behind Quatre. Diana's hands began to move, forming the word patterns of that strange language. "He said your name is ..." Trowa translated. Diana paused, frowned, and then rolled her eyes. Quatre stifled a chuckle at her expression; even Trowa smiled when he read her next sentence, one he only mentally translated. (Christ Duo, just pick one!) She paused again before resuming her first sentence. "You are Quatre. Behind you is Trowa. The one at the computer is Wufei and the last one is Heero. Duo says that he trusts all of you. Were you the other pilots?"

"We are." Heero answered for them. "The Gundams still exist." Diana's eyes lit up, only to have them dull with Heero's next sentence. "We don't know where they are; we haven't found them. Yet."

Diana chewed her bottom lip as she thought, her eyes moving back and forth in time with the ideas flying through her mind. Her hands started to talk again, Trowa continuing his translation. "I could look for them. I just need to get my laptop out. Would," she paused before continuing. "Would you like me to look for them?"

Wufei leaned forward, hands resting flat against his thighs. "What makes you think you can find them when even Heero and Duo have been unable to locate them?"

Diana smirked. "Because I'm better than Duo when it comes to computers. My laptop was," she halted, searching for the correct word. "Was built by me. Duo knows not to touch it. Judging from that laptop over there, mine is at least four times more effective. So, would you like me to look for the Gundams?"

Quatre let out a breath, his bangs momentarily puffing up with the force of air. "I think this is something we should discuss," he watched Heero and Wufei as he spoke, trying to gauge their reaction. "Diana, would you please wait here?" He looked at her, hoping she understood why she wasn't included in the upcoming discussion.

Diana sighed and gave Quatre a small smile. "I'll wait here for a bit."

Quatre beamed. "Great! We'll be downstairs if you need anything." He jumped to his feet and headed out, followed almost immediately by Trowa and Wufei. After a few seconds Heero followed only to pause in the doorway. He looked back at Diana and, had she been looking, she would have noticed concern and acceptance flash across his face before it settled into its cold mask.

"My apologies for startling you." He left before Diana's head swung in his direction, closing the door after him. Heero debated telling the others that Diana would run but decided against it. Duo is in there, somewhere. Hopefully that will give her the edge she'll need. He squared his shoulders before heading down.

Diana stared at the closed door, stunned. 'He apologized? And he understood that I'm going to leave? Just what kind of person is he?'

_'The type that understands us. So are you still gonna run_?' Duo's voice echoed inside their mind.

Diana snorted as she hurried over to their bedside cabinet. "Of course I'm gonna run," she whispered, using her voice for the first time since waking up. "That's what we do best." She knelt down and quickly jimmied the lock open. She eased her torso into the small opening, lying on her back. Her hands reached up and began to work at something stuck to the underside of the top. A faint click echoed in the room, followed by a mechanical voice.

"First alarm deactivated. Please state name."

Diana cleared her throat. "Diana Maxwell."

"Name and voice print verified. Second alarm deactivated. Please state age and birth date."

"I don't know."

"Third alarm deactivated. All alarms now offline." Another click echoed through the room. Diana quickly removed the slim machine that had been placed in the cabinet. Once out of the cabinet she ran over to the closet, grabbing the always packed duffle bag and securing the laptop inside. Shutting the bag, she double checked all the straps before swinging the bag onto her back. She made her way to the window and in almost no time found herself running to the garage where she knew Duo's bike rested. Diana walked the motorcycle until they were a safe distance from the house. Getting on the bike, she started the engine and speed away, leaving three very upset and angry and one resigned young man behind her.

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A/N

The idea for this story just crept into my skull and wouldn't come out until I did something with it. I have no idea where this story is headed, so we're all in for a surprise! And to everyone reading Night's Redemption, I will be working on it; my muse is kinda flighty and I think she wants to focus on this story for now. As always, please reveiw! Oh, and I know I kept switching the genders when refering to Duo and Diana; the body isn't changing but the personality is and that is what the pronoun change is supposed to indicate. Hope I didn't confuse anyone too badly...


	2. Chapter 2

See chapter one for disclaimer

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"Hey Howard! Call for you." Paul stuck his head into Howard's office. The balding man looked up, pushing his sunglasses back up.

"Thought I told you to block all but the important ones," Howard grumbled. He had just found the time to get caught up on all the paperwork his salvage company generated.

Paul grinned, knowing the old man was secretly pleased at the interruption. He hated doing paperwork and often waited until the last minute before finishing it. "Yeah, you did. But these guys wouldn't call unless it was important. And they refuse to speak with anyone except you. So what should I tell them?"

Howard shoved the work away, disgusted. "Put them through." Paul's grin widened as he ducked back out. A few swift keystrokes later Howard's screen blinked to life, showing Quatre with Heero leaning over him. Howard leaned forward, his sunglasses slipping down his nose once more. The two boys looked worried. "Hey Quatre, Heero. To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"Howard." Quatre nodded, glad they were finally speaking to him. "Have you heard from Duo recently?"

Howard frowned. "No, I haven't heard from the Kid since the war ended. Why?"

Heero leaned forward, his cobalt eyes clouded with an emotion Howard was hard pressed to identify. "Have you heard from Diana recently?"

Howard leaned back, settling himself in his chair; this was going to be a long call. He took off his sunglasses, face losing all mirth. "How did you find out about Diana?" Quatre quickly explained the situation, Howard getting angrier as the events were told. "Damn that J!" Howard slammed his fist down, papers fluttering to the floor. Paul stuck his head back in at the sudden outburst.

"Boss? What's wrong?"

Howard ignored the title. "Bring up this ships personnel file and get ready for the Kid to call."

"We'll be there shortly..." Quatre began.

"No!" Howard cut him off, startling nearly everyone with his vehemence. "If the Kid left then it's because she didn't trust you guys. And if she finds you here then we'll never see her again. Got it? Stay away until she contacts you and specifically tells you to visit."

"Howard," Heero spoke into the lull as Howard regained his breath, "do you know what happened to her?"

Howard searched Heero's face, nodding at what he found. 'He's worried about her but he's hiding it.' "She was almost raped by one of the new workers. I should have listened to Duo and Shin; neither of them trusted that guy. Ever since then, if she doesn't trust someone she'll let one of the others control the body until that person leaves."

"Runs and hides," Quatre mused. He closed his eyes. "Dear Allah. But why won't she talk?"

"That's part of the trust. Her voice is very distinctive and the guy found it irresistible. He kept yelling at her, ordering her to scream for him. That's how we were able to find her and stop him before it went any further."

Heero's eyes darkened with suppressed rage. "Where is he?"

Howard chuckled, shivers running down Quatre's spine. "You're two years too late. Shinigami already took care of him." Howard sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "Look, I'll ask Diana to let you guys know she's fine. Otherwise, just give her time to adjust. With Duo and Shin vouching for you guys she'll come around eventually. Anything else?"

Quatre shook his head. "No Howard. Thank you. We'll call off our search and wait. But," he looked Howard straight in the eye, his own pleading. "Please tell her we're worried. That we hope she's safe." Howard nodded and terminated the call. He slumped back in his chair, drained. Not even Paul's whistle roused him.

"Poor kid can't ever get a break. I'll make sure we have a room for her to use. Oh, I pulled up the personnel file and everyone currently on board is someone Diana has dealt with before. So there's no need to play shuffle with them."

"Good." Howard stared off into the distance, trying to figure out what J was thinking. Paul watched him, knowing exactly what was going through his bosses mind. They both jumped when the vidphone flashed, an incoming call yanking them back to reality. Howard let the call through, eyebrows drawing together when the screen remained blank. The two words appeared; Identify please. Howard started to chuckle as Paul roared with laughter, clutching his stomach. "You haven't lost your touch, Kid. It's just me and Paul. No one else is in the room." Instantly the words vanished, replaced by the image of Duo/Diana.

"I take it the other pilots contacted and informed you." She kept her voice low, making sure she wasn't overheard.

"They did. At least as much as they could. How are you holding up?" Howard asked, concern evident.

Diana sighed. "Not well. I'm just not used to being out this much. I'll be there in a couple of days. Have you...?"

"We've already checked the crew," Paul interrupted her. "Everyone here is someone the three of you know, checked and cleared. And we'll have a separate room when you finally do get here."

Diana smiled in relief. "Thank you, both of you. Is there anything I can work on when I get there?"

Paul chuckled. "Well," he drawled, "you can always help with the paperwork. You know how the old man here loves to get it done on time." Diana giggled as Howard glared at the two of them.

"Are you two clowns done?" He asked, sourly. Diana managed to get her laughter under control before Paul. Paul left right after, starting the process of finding Diana a room, still shaking with mirth. Howard glared at his retreating back before looking at the screen once more. "Diana, they mentioned that you can't call either Duo or Shin. Are you completely blocked?"

A quick shake of her head answered his question. "I can talk with them like we've always been able to. They just can't take over. I'd be more of a wreck if that was gone too." She shivered and hunched over. "The worst part," her voice dropped even lower, "the worst part was I was dreaming about ... it ... when I got locked out. And then to wake up to find someone pinning me down, someone I didn't know..." She shivered again, arms wrapping tight around her legs, drawing them close to her chest. "Then more people running in that I didn't know; Duo and Shin both screaming..." Her voice trailed off as she began to rock back and forth.

"It'll be alright Diana." Howard tried to sooth the panic-stricken young boy/girl. "We'll find a way to let them back out, assuming nobody kills J for doing this in the first place."

Diana's rocking slowed then stopped as Howard continued to speak. She looked up when he finished, a strange light in her eyes. "Shin wants J," she stated, eerily calm.

Howard took a deep breath, slowly exhaling. "Then we'll make sure to save him for Shin." Diana's answering grin sent waves of dread down Howard's spine.

—

Quatre stretched, easing his tired muscles. He had just finished calling Trowa and Wufei back to the house, canceling the search. Glancing over at Heero, Quatre raised his eyebrows in surprise. While Heero was working on a laptop, it wasn't his. In fact ... "Heero, what are you doing with Duo's computer?"

"Seeing if there's anything in here that can help us, anything he might have written about Diana." His fingers flew over the keyboard, eyes intent on the display. "Most of it seems to be his thoughts on us."

"Do I even want to know?" Heero glanced over, one eyebrow raised. Quatre let out a weak laugh. "Rhetorical question, I know. Tell us when you find something." Heero nodded as Quatre left, attention once more focused on the machine in front of him. After a few minutes the fevered pitch of clicking keys faltered and died. Heero drew his eyebrows together, puzzled. Rising to his feet, he carried Duo's laptop over to his own, connecting the two. Examining the coding displayed on Duo's screen, he nodded and transferred the file he found onto his computer. After disconnecting the two laptops, he wiped all traces of his search from Duo's computer. When completed, he took his laptop downstairs to join Quatre, a small smile on his lips.

Quatre looked up as Heero entered the living room, a cup of tea poised halfway to his mouth. He placed it down when Heero's expression registered. "You found something."

Heero nodded. "A double encrypted file."

"How," Quatre began, puzzled.

"The file name uses one encryption, the contents another. This was the only file protected like that; I had to do quite a bit of digging to get it." Heero sat down, choosing one of the numerous armchairs dotting the living room, his laptop balanced on his thighs. Flexing his fingers, he leaned over, focused solely on breaking the code and reading whatever Duo had gone to great lengths to protect.

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A/N

Oaky, moving SUCKS! Now that's out of the way, I should be able to get back to all of my stories. Apologies to all for the delay! And thanks to everyone who responded; I still don't know where this story is headed but it's definately shaping up to be an interesting ride. Please let me know if anyone seems majorly OOC, I'm trying to keep them as close to how they were portrayed in the series as I can (EW never happened as far as this story is concerned). All reveiws welcome, any flames will be used to make smores (grin)


	3. Chapter 3

See chapter 1 for disclaimer.

Okay, to clear up some confusion, no this is not a gender-change fic! Duo is most definately a guy (and most of us want to keep him that way!) Just whenever Diana is in control of their body, the body will be refered to as a "she" even though it's still male. Everyone all set? If not, please let me know and I'll try to clarify! Now, on to the chapter!

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Paul strode onto the deck of the Sweeper ship, heading over to the giant crane. They'd been having some problems with it lately and he wanted to get those minor difficulties cleared before it became something major. 'Ah, the perks of being head mechanic,' he thought as he walked over. 'Get to choose the jobs **I** want!' Diana was supposed to arrive today and working on the crane would allow him a clear view of the area. Both he and Howard had warned the crew that the Kid would be coming back home, and that he'd been having a rough time lately, but they didn't say anything about Diana being stuck outside. If that info got out, it was very likely they would never see the Kid again. Something that nobody wanted.

So it came as quite a surprise when he found Diana already sitting at the controls for the crane. Asleep. A state she unfortunately didn't stay in for long as his tools slipped out of numbed fingers to clatter against the deck. "Shit!" Paul stared, not really believing what he was seeing. Diana looked as though she had run a gauntlet of mobile dolls, without a Gundam.

"I take it I look my usual self?" Her voice cracked, fatigue destroying its usual timber.

"Damn Kid. What happened to you?" Paul rushed over and yanked the door open, nearly spilling Diana to the deck. He swiftly helped her regain her balance; however, when she didn't stop swaying he picked her up, throwing her over his shoulder in a fireman's carry.

"Haven't slept. Haven't felt safe enough till I got here," Diana mumbled. The only muscles still taunt were her hands; they held the duffle bag in a death grip.

"Shit!" Paul swore again, running across the deck to get below, crew members scattering out of his way. He yelled for someone to inform Howard and medical. Someone must have listened; Howard ran around a corner just as Paul reached the small hospital, the door held open by their resident doctor. The doctor, John, started to examine her almost as soon as Paul passed through the door.

Diana began to protest once the new location registered in her exhausted mind. "Just need sleep; I'm not sick."

John smiled, not pausing his examination. "Of course you're not sick, Di. But we need to reassure the fools back there," he gestured at Paul and Howard, "that you are okay." He continued, giving Diana a through exam, humming occasionally. Once done, he sat back, balancing on his heels, absently tapping his stethoscope against his pursed lips. Paul finally broke the silence.

"Well? Is it just lack of sleep?" the mechanic demanded.

John looked over, eyes still lost in thought. "Hmm? Oh!" He stopped tapping his lips. "Some slight malnutrition and dehydration but otherwise nothing else. We should hook up an IV..." Diana growled, her eyes hazy with exhaustion. "But I know how the both of you feel about needles so as long as you drink everything I give you until I release you, you'll be fine." John stood, his coat flapping around him as he headed to one of the cabinets lining the walls. With his back to Diana, he mixed up something. Turning around, he presented a glass to Diana. "Drink. I promise there is nothing in here to make you sleep. Just some basics that your body desperately needs." He grinned at Diana's glare, still holding out the glass. With another growl Diana took it from him, draining it in one gulp. She handed the empty glass back to John.

"Can I go to sleep now?" She asked, cranky, voice still cracking.

"Go right ahead. I'll be in my office and will check back in a few hours to see how you're doing." He strode out of the room, taking Howard and Paul with him.

"See ya in a few," Paul managed to yell before the door closed. "So, what couldn't you tell the Kid?" He demanded of John.

The doctor sighed. "It's nothing that some rest, real rest, can't fix. Truefully." Paul and Howard glanced at eachother then simultaneously turned their gaze upon John, disbelieving. John sighed again. "Look, their body went through a hell of a lot of stress for the past year. The type that even adult bodies have a hard time recovering from. He had started to heal when this," John waved at the closed door, "happened. Honestly, all the Kid really needs is to take it easy and not push their body."

Paul held up his hands in mock surrender. "Alright, we'll believe you. And we'll make sure Diana doesn't push herself and cause another relapse. Think we should tell the other boys she's safe?" He glanced at Howard, silently indicating it was his decision.

Howard ran his hand over the bald patch on his skull, a nervous gesture he never got rid of. "Yeah, we should. I'll take care of that now. Soon as she's released, get her to her room. I'll talk to her about what she can do to help around here."

"Nothing strenuous!"

"'Course not, Doc." Howard calmed the doctor. "But if we don't give her something to do she'll find a job herself. The Kid hates to sit around doing nothing." With that, Howard headed to his office. He had four worried teenagers to reassure.

—

Heero scowled at his computer. 'Two days. Two days and I haven't even decrypted a tenth of this file!' He glared at his computer; he could swear the code was mocking his efforts. The file name had only taken fifteen minutes to crack, giving Heero a brief burst of hope. He had found Duo's journal. That one shining moment wore away as the files code stubbornly refused to co-operate. Quatre, Wufei, and Trowa all avoided Heero; the Wind pilot took this challenge personally. A knock on the door interrupted him as he once more searched for the key to unlock the file. "What?!" he snapped.

The door swung open, Trowa leaning against the frame. "Howard's on the phone." The L3 boys words gave Heero an excuse he didn't consciously realize he needed. Heero stood, leaving his laptop on and followed Trowa to the study. Trowa watched him out of the corner of his eye. "You should take more breaks."

Heero snorted. "I know! It's just..." He let out an explosive breath, his bangs flying up from the escaping air. "Just doesn't seem like the level of work that Duo usually does. It's much more," Heero's voice trailed off as he desperately racked his brain, searching for the proper word.

"Then maybe it wasn't Duo that encrypted it."

"You mean Diana wrote the cipher?" Trowa nodded. "Hmm." Heero's brow creased as he thought hard. "I think you might be right."

Trowa chuckled. "Such high praise; I'm honored." He opened the door to the office, halting any further comments. Heero could see Quatre sitting in front of the vidphone, Wufei standing directly behind him. Howard's voice could be heard crackling over the speakers.

"Oh, you're all here; wish I was seeing the four of you under better circumstances."

"Howard said he had some news about Diana," Wufei informed Heero. The dark haired boy nodded as both he and Trowa moved to stand on either side of Wufei, forming a semicircle behind Quatre.

"Sure do! She's safe and currently resting..." Whatever else he was going to say became lost as the screen flickered. "What the..." If it was possible to see through the sunglasses, the four young men would have seen Howard's eyes widen in shock and recognition. "Damnit Kid! You're supposed to be asleep!"

Quatre felt a small frown form. "Howard, what are you..." He choked off the rest of his sentence as words began to scroll across the screen, superimposed over Howard's face.

/Sorry Howard, but Duo won't let me go to sleep until I inform the others on two points. First, we're fine. Don't look for us, we'll contact you later. Second, whoever copied that file from Duo's computer has about two minutes to enter this code (a string of letters and numbers, sixteen characters long followed) before their computer melts. Make that one minute now./

"Shimatta!" Heero bolted, racing back to his room, thankful that he had left his laptop on. Blessing his photographic memory, he hastily typed the code. Then frowned as a new phrase appeared on his screen. /Program halted. 24 hours to clear second stage./ Heero felt a growl beginning to form deep in his guts. He ruthlessly squashed the desire as he picked up his laptop, carrying it back to the office.

Thankfully, Diana was still in a talkative mood. On the screen, Howard was leaning back in his chair, watching them over the rim of his sunglasses, clearly amused. Quatre was doing his best to convince Diana to turn on her visual. "Please Diana. You can keep typing your responses, but we really need to see that you're alright," Quatre pleaded. Heero thanked the stars that he couldn't see the look that came paired with that tone of voice; Quatre always got what he wanted with that combination.

The vidphone's screen flickered again, this time splitting into two images. /Yeah, he did the puppy eyes./ Diana's words now appeared over the right half of the screen. A few seconds later a new image appeared. It was a hospital room with a single bed. Sitting on that bed, a laptop resting on his crossed legs with his back to the camera, was a young man with a very distinctive braid running down his back. /Howard, I don't even want to know why there's a camera in the med lab./ No sounds accompanied the words, making for an eerie situation.

Howard chuckled. "Well, after a certain someone decided to check themselves out without first seeing if they were finally okay..." He shrugged.

/Okay, you've made your point. So, you can see I'm fine, I've told all of you those two points, can I go to sleep now?/

"Wait!" Heero placed his laptop down beside the phone. "How did you know we went into Duo's computer? How did that program get onto my system; the file was clean when I checked it! And what is the code for the second stage?!" Heero's voice rose steadily until he shouted his last question.

"Easy Heero." Howard attempted to defuse the situation before it got out of hand. They could see Diana shift around on the bed until she faced the small camera. Quatre gasped, echoing the sentiment of the others, shocked at how rapidly she had deteriorated in the two days since she had left them. They could also clearly see the headset Diana was wearing. She wasn't typing her replies, she was speaking them. Quatre's heart tightened at this blatant display of mistrust. She opened her mouth to speak, answering Heero's questions.

/Any activity on Duo's computer is recorded and automatically sent to mine unless the stop code is entered before his computer is shut down. And the file was clean before you copied it onto your system. However, if you had watched the code as it was copied onto your system, you would have noticed the virus attach itself, moving with the copy to your machine. A watcher program I designed attached it the moment you began the transfer. As for the second code.../ Diana smirked, her fingers busy on the keyboard. Heero watched intently, trying to figure out what she was doing.

"Shit Yuy! She's doing something to your computer!" Wufei shouted, Heero's head snapped to the right, staring incredulously at his laptop. Diana's smirk widened.

/You'll find all of the stages have cleared. Good luck finding the back door my program inserted. And good night./ The screen flickered a final time, returning to showing just Howard's image.

The remaining Gundam pilots looked at eachother, shocked. "Well," Quatre broke the strained silence, "she did say she was better than Duo as far as computers are concerned."

"You're lucky Heero, very, very lucky. She doesn't like people invading either hers or Duo's privacy. You need to thank Duo; he's the only reason why you still have a laptop." Howard still watched them over the rim of his sunglasses, eyes serious. "She's promised to call you boys later so just wait. And I really wouldn't recommend going back onto Duo's computer. Next time she just might let your hardware melt."

"You've seen it happen before," Trowa stated.

Howard nodded. "Right after she designed it. We had an old clunker lying around that I let her use to test it. In 48 hours I had a pile of melted plastic and metal. That virus she designed will override any coolant device then superheats the entire system. Once it begins, there is no way to stop it. Like I said, you are very lucky."

"I wish I could understand why she ran." Quatre absently tugged on the cuff of his right sleeve. "She was willing to co-operate in order to find the Gundams."

"But what did you do right after she offered?"

"We discussed whether or not we should accept her help," Wufei spoke up. "But when we returned to the room, she had already left."

Howard stared intently at Wufei. "You left the room to talk over her offer without her present?" Three of them nodded, Heero the sole exception. Howard sighed, flopping back in the chair. "In other words, you didn't trust her enough to talk in front of her yet you expected her to trust you."

"But," Quatre began.

Howard held up a hand. "You trusted Duo, maybe even Shinigami, but you demonstrated in the clearest possible way that you did not trust Diana."

"If we had talked in front if her," Wufei stepped in to defend Quatre's decision.

"Then she would have listened, answered questions when asked, and let you reach a decision without trying to influence you." Howard pinned each of them with his eyes. "Trust goes both ways. Now you will have to work twice as hard to gain hers."

"But why didn't Duo tell us about her?!" Quatre burst, unable to hold back a question that had been simmering in his mind ever since that night.

"I think I know why." Heero looked up, noting their shocked faces with amusement. "We didn't exactly react well whenever Duo called himself Shinigami. We all assumed it was a mask, a defense to block what he was doing. It's become painfully obvious it wasn't an act. A part of Duo truly is Shinigami. And a part is Diana." Heero glanced at his laptop. "Hopefully the answer to how it happened is in that file." His shoulders slumped slightly. "All I have to do is crack that code."

Howard chuckled. "Lots of luck." The screen darkened as he terminated the call.

Quatre turned around, swiveling the chair 180 degrees. He noticed the expressions on his friends faced and cleared his throat. "I hate to add to the problems we already have, but what are we going to tell Sally and Une? The two of them are coming over today for our checkups."

"We'll have to tell them everything." Trowa stated, staring at the floor. "It's pointless to try to hide the fact that Duo just isn't here."

"And Sally just might be able to help us understand what is going on with Duo. After all, we were going to call her right after we met 'Diana'." Wufei contributed. "But it goes no further than those two."

Quatre nodded. "Agreed. Too many people already know about Diana. And while the Maganac's don't know about her, they do know Duo is missing. Heero?" Quatre arched an eyebrow, asking the stoic young man's opinion.

"I see no reason for anyone else to know," Heero agreed. He picked up his laptop, heading out of the room. "Let me know when they arrive," he threw over his shoulder as he walked back to his room.

* * *

A/N

Woo Hoo! Another chapter done! There might be some explainations in the next chapter, then again, maybe not! Oh, I'm being evil! (rubs hands gleefully) Anyways, please reveiw, any flames will be used to make smores.


	4. Chapter 4

See chapter 1 for disclaimer.

Chapter warning: Some Hilde bashing; don't know why since I like that character but she just came out that way for this story. Ah well. Also some implied Relena bashing. And just a reminder, not a gender change fic!

Quick Key

"blah" speaking

/blah/ typing

'blah' thoughts

_'blah'_ indicates the mind speach of whoever is not in control of Duo's body, ie either Diana or Duo, it can switch

* * *

Sally and Une were not amused when they learned of Duo's disappearance. They were somewhat mollified when they learned of Diana, Sally offering what medical knowledge she had on split or multiple personality disorders and promising to find out more for them. The next few weeks passed, Heero growing increasingly frustrated by his inability to crack the encryption despite having received a grudgingly given hint from Diana. His admiration in her abilities grew along with his irritation. The other pilots were forced to admit that she could, indeed, have located the Gundams, if they had trusted her enough. For once, their inherent need for secrecy worked against them. Time continued in that pattern until two separate incidents forced their hands. 

For the past week Hilde had been calling, asking to see Duo. After several days of being brushed off, she took matters into her own hands, showing up on the doorstep of Quatre's house, refusing to leave until she saw Duo. Unfortunately for the boys, Sally arrived with her, bringing all the data on MPD she had found. To compound their problems, this was the day Diana had agreed to call in order to meet with Sally. Quatre just couldn't bring himself to turn away one woman while allowing the other to enter. As a result, Hilde got to sit in on the call.

Sally, Hilde and Quatre were in the office waiting for Diana to call. Checking her watch, Sally frowned slightly. "Shouldn't she have called by now?" The moment she uttered those words, the vidphone flashed, indicating an incoming call. Quatre quickly moved to accept it. Sally felt her frown deepen when the screen remained blank. Well, blank except for the words that now appeared.

/Identify please./

"What the hell?" she muttered under her breath.

"Diana, it's Quatre. Sally and Hilde are with me, no one else is in the room." The two women looked at Quatre, shocked. From the way he spoke, this had happened before.

/Hilde? Who's Hilde?/ There was a pause before the next sentence appeared. /Ah, thanks Duo./ Quatre suppressed a wince as Hilde flew forward.

"Wait a minute! Duo's there? Let me talk to him!"

/And this person reminds you of me? Oh, I see. Alright, you're forgiven. Sorry Hilde, but I'm the only person that can speak to Duo right now. What did you want to tell him?/

Hilde's eyes widened as she read. "What do you mean no one else can talk to him? This is preposterous! Turn on your screen right now! Let me see Duo!"

/sigh You asked for it./ The screen flickered, Duo's face appearing under the text. The same headset was clearly in view; the laptop, however, was conspicuously absent.

"Duo!" Hilde smiled in relief. "There you are! What was that nonsense about this Diana person being the only one who can talk to you?" Quatre remained silent throughout, letting Diana decide how much to tell Hilde. Sally watched with interest, gathering what data she could to help her figure out what was going on in Duo's head.

/I'm not Duo./ The words formed as Diana talked, no sounds issuing from the speakers. /I'm Diana. Duo is in here and doesn't want to come out right now./ She tapped the side of her head. /So if you have anything you really want to tell him, it has to go through me./

Hilde started to sputter in rage. "You... But... This is ridiculous! Duo, quit joking around!"

Diana's eyes narrowed before she switched her gaze to Quatre. /I'm not speaking any more until she is removed from that house./ The screen went black, her last words still floating on the screen.

Quatre sighed. "Miss Schbeiker, I must ask you to leave. We need to speak with Diana."

Hilde whirled around, eyes blazing. "What the hell is going on here?! Why is Duo acting like that?" she screeched. Sally winced, covering her ears. The door to the office opened as Hilde finished, Rashid entering.

"Master Quatre, is there a problem?" he gentle voice boomed out.

"Rashid, I'm afraid Miss Schbeiker is overwrought." Quatre glared at Hilde, his eyes ice. "She needs to be taken home so she can rest."

"I understand." Rashid grabbed the struggling girl, easily lifting her up and carried her out of the room. Quatre watched carefully, not relaxing until the door closed behind them.

Sally looked over at Quatre, one eyebrow raised. "So how long will we have to wait until Diana calls back?"

Quatre chuckled. "She didn't end the call, she only blocked our end. And I'll bet you anything that she's inside my security right now, watching and listening. Once Hilde has left, she'll talk to us again." Quatre sighed. "Hilde really should have known better than to call either of them a lair, even indirectly."

Sally nodded. "So we wait." She looked around the office before selecting an armchair, sinking down into it. "In the meantime, how's Heero doing with that file?"

—

Diana sat back, noting the giant mans progress as he removed the young girl. "Damn, she's got it bad," she muttered.

'_What has she got bad?'_

Diana snorted. "Of course you wouldn't notice it. She's in love with you. Or rather, she thinks she is. Just like that Relena you've been telling me about."

'_What!? No way! Are you sure?'_

"Positive. Look at all the trouble she went through just to talk to you. I'll bet she'll try bugging Howard next." Diana sighed. "Remind me to improve Howard's security after this call."

'_Sure. Damn, I didn't think she felt that way. There's no way I can lover her like that! I mean...'_

"I know, Duo. We both like guys." Diana leaned forward, elbows propped on the table as she rested her chin against her palms. "And I know Hilde won't take that well."

'_No kidding. Well, shit.'_

Diana chuckled. "Ever the master of the obvious." Duo chose to ignore her. Glancing over at her laptop, Diana automatically scanned through the various windows, noting the locations of the other pilots. Or rather, the pilots that were currently in Quatre's house. Trowa was once more in the exercise room, practicing his acrobatics. Heero was sitting in the downstairs living room, his laptop resting on the desk in front of him. "You're right Duo. He is definitely addicted to that machine of his."

'_Like you're any better.'_

"Of course I am. I use mine as a tool to assist me during my jobs. Face it, if you had used my laptop, you and Yuy would have found the Gundams." Diana glanced at the window showing the scene around Deathsythe, thankful that she and Duo had created the sensors that currently allowed her to patch in, monitoring the activity around their Gundam. The chair slammed onto the floor as she sat up. "Shit! What the hell is going on there?" She reached over, slowly boosting the volume as she closely watched the sudden activity around the five Gundams.

"...ready to move! We have one day, pilot 05 spotted one of our agents." A thin, reedy voice crackled over the speakers. Diana frowned when she heard it.

"I know that voice," she muttered, fingers flying over her keyboard, pulling up all the relevant files on the Gundams current whereabouts, bundling the package. Opening links directly to the other pilots computers, she dumped copies of the files into their memory. "Ex. Open com link to Yuy's computer. End Ex," she calmly stated into her head piece, hands still busy at her keyboard as she carefully expanded 'Scythe's range. The clacking of Heero's fingers striking his keyboard resounded over her earpiece. "Knock knock." Diana grinned as Heero's hands momentarily paused, the only indicator that he had been startled as Diana's words scrolled across his screen. "Sorry, no time for pleasantries. You and the others have 12 hours to get over here. In 24 hours the Gundams will be gone and it looks like they're being prepped for space transport. All the data I've been able to gather has been copied onto all of your computers. Hurry but keep from being followed. Chang has already been spotted." Diana watched with one eye as Heero rapidly digested the info, the other focused on the data 'Scythe's sensors were feeding her laptop. He twitched at the order to do exactly what he always does, then scowled at her last sentence.

"Understood. We'll be there."

"Please bring Duo's laptop with you." Heero nodded, starting to shut down his computer. "Ex. Close com link. End Ex." Diana switched the focus that had been on Heero's phone call to the vidphone, glancing at the window to observe Quatre and Sally. She missed Heero's raised eyebrows as her last command scrolled across his screen. She also missed the faint smile that immediately followed. "Ex. Open link with vidphone, full visuals. End Ex." The vidphone next to her flared to life, revealing a startled Quatre and Sally. "Can't chat any longer. Heero will explain. See you later." She stretched, disconnecting the vidphone, ending the call before either could raise an objection. "Now, let's find out where I know that voice from." Diana bent over her laptop, her entire being focusing on the one task.

—

Heero moved quickly, placing his and Duo's laptops in his duffle bag, making sure they wouldn't accidentally get damaged. He efficiently stripped the room of all hidden weaponry, securing them either on himself or in his bag. Once finished, he strode rapidly to the office, confidant Quatre was there. 'Well, mostly correct,' he mused as Quatre stepped out of the office, followed by Sally, a few seconds before Heero reached the door.

"Heero, Diana said you could explain why she cut her call short." Quatre gazed evenly at the American-Japanese boy, waiting for an answer before moving any further.

"We're leaving," Heero stated, falling back on his command voice. "Diana found the Gundams but whoever has them is moving them . All the info she's gotten is in our laptops. 12 hours, max, to get to her and another 12 before the Gundams are gone." Quatre brightened, then steadily darkened as Heero talked.

"Understood." The blond Arab raced to his room, dragging his still packed bag out of the closet, only pausing to grab Trowa's bag and their laptops. Pulling out his mobile phone, he speed dialed Wufei, praying the Chinese youth was close to the house.

"Chang here. What do you want Winner?"

Quatre sighed. "Where are you?"

"On my way back. I found some interesting information and it looked as though someone wasn't too happy about me discovering it. I had to get rid of three tails."

"Double time back; we're heading out. We'll exchange information once you get here. You still packed?"

Wufei cursed in Mandarin over the phone. "Yes, it's in the closet. See you in 15 at the most. Chang out."

Quatre put his phone away, slung both packs onto his back and headed to the first floor living room. He had transportation to arrange.

* * *

A/N 

I hope I haven't completely confused people, if I have then please ask and it will hopefully be made clear. Just one warning about that, though; most of my explainations happen in the story so you might have to wait to have you're question answered. Enjoy, please reveiw, critques welcome and all flames will be used to make smores. heehee, I could use that chocolate right about now...


	5. Chapter 5

See chapter 1 for disclaimer.

Chapter Warnings: umm, none I can think of…

Quick Key

"blah" speaking

/blah/ typing

'blah' thoughts

_'blah'_ indicates the mind speach of whoever is not in control of Duo's body, ie either Diana or Duo, it can switch

* * *

Howard looked at the four men apprehensively. He coughed once before speaking. "Hope you can help, the Kid's been going frantic for the last hour. Not even Paul and I can calm him." Howard sighed, running his hand through his hair. "It's even worse than that time two years ago." 

Sally pushed her way forward. She had insisted on accompanying the four and they couldn't find a good reason to stop her. "Has either Diana or Duo said anything?"

"Nope," Howard shook his head, walking to the room Diana was currently in. "She's just rocking back and forth. Her computer is on, but even I know better than to touch that!"

"Were you able to see anything on the screen?" Sally queried.

"Briefly. She's got it patched into 'Scythe's sensors." Howard paused before the door. "She was muttering something about recognizing someone's voice, but that was a few hours ago."

"Right after she finished alerting us, then." Quatre's eyes went vacant as he stared off into the distance, his mind putting the pieces of the puzzle together. Wufei, however, was just a little faster.

"So she saw someone through the sensors that she recognized and obviously wasn't expecting to see them again." He took a deep, calming breath. "And from what Duo wrote in his journal, the only person that could get this level of reaction is the one who almost raped her."

Howard paled. "Impossible. That guy is dead."

"How certain are you?" Sally locked eyes with Howard.

"You didn't see what was left of the body," Howard shuddered as he remembered. "Believe me, he's dead. Shinigami made very certain of that."

Quatre squared his shoulders. "Let's go. I'll have to see what sort of condition Diana's in and adjust the plan accordingly." He opened the door and walked in, the others following a few seconds later. They were in what looked like a conference room, a large table dominating the space, chairs placed evenly around it. At the far end a laptop sat, opened and powered, Diana sitting behind it, legs drawn up with arms wrapped around them, hugging them close, face buried in her knees. Quatre glanced at Heero, gesturing for him to follow; Diana'd had the most contact with the two of them and therefore was less likely to react violently if they got too near.

They circled around, both taking the same side, leaving Diana an escape route should she choose it. There was no reaction from her as they got closer. Quatre crouched down at her side, making himself seem as small and harmless as he could. He glanced at the computer screen as he knelt, his heart singing as he glimpsed a part of Sandrock. The screen appeared to be frozen, the image focused on one person, a man Quatre didn't recognize. A glance at Heero confirmed the man was just as much an unknown to the Wing pilot. Heero stood behind and to one side of Quatre, close enough to reach Diana should she decide to bolt but far enough to give the illusion of space.

"Diana? It's Quatre. Heero is standing right next to me." Quatre kept his voice soft, using the same tone from the first night they met, consciously copying the formula he always used when she called. "Wufei, Trowa, Howard and Sally are also here." There was no reaction. "Diana, please tell us what happened." Quatre slowly reached out with his right hand, brushing the skin on the back of her hands.

That got a reaction, one he hadn't planned on. Diana's head snapped up the moment his hand touched her, a strangled scream escaping her. She would have left that side of the room if Heero had been a fraction slower. He jumped forward, hands wrapping vice-like on her upper arms. This time she did scream, flailing against his iron grip, collapsing just as suddenly, breathing heavily. No one moved, each person waiting for some signal.

"You can let go, 'Ro. And while I know you didn't mean to frighten her, don't ever scare Diana like that again."

Quatre sucked in his breath. "Duo?" he asked, incredulously as Heero let the boy go.

The braided boy turned around, rubbing his arms in an effort to restore circulation. He glanced at Quatre, eyes glinting. "You were expecting the Easter Bunny?" Duo grinned. "Been a while, how're you doing Quat?"

"Thank Allah!" Quatre surged up from the floor, flinging his arms around the L2 boy in fierce hug. "We've missed you, Duo."

Duo hugged back just as fiercely. "Thanks Quat. I've missed you guys too." He looked across the table, grin still in place. "Hiya Tro, 'Fei, Sal. Nice to see you again, Old Man."

Howard grinned, a mirror to the one on Duo's face. "Yeah, yeah. Good to see you too, Kid." His smile faded. "So what frightened Diana?"

Duo scowled at the laptop. He could feel Diana deep in their shared psyche; she was still shaking from fear in spite of Shin calming her. There on the screen was a face he never thought to see except in his nightmares. Duo sank in the chair, hands poised over the keyboard. He knew it wasn't the same guy, but he needed to prove that to Diana. "Di, you need to take over my hands."

'_No! I'm not coming out!'_

"I'm not asking you to come out!" Duo puffed his bangs up, exasperated. "Just take over the typing! I know you've got this thing rigged with specific pressure gauges and I really don't want it blowing up in our face. I'll tell you what to do." He paused, hands still hovering before they rested on the keyboard. Duo grinned. "Alright, isolate quadrant 312 and increase resolution 20 times." His hands moved, hitting keys with unerring accuracy. The new picture appeared, allowing everyone to clearly make out the man on the screen. By this time everyone had converged on that end of the table.

"Is that him?" Heero's voice was full of a promise, one Duo wished he had time to figure out.

"Nope. Jaw is just a little too narrow and his eyes are a little further apart." Duo looked down at his hands. Their task finished, they had returned to the 'rest' position. "Di, I need you to save this image and open a live feed to 'Scythe, visual and audio." His hands moved once more, the picture shunted off to one side of the screen as another window opened.

"…Winner kid has no idea what he's passed up."

A snort was heard over the speakers. "Don't drop your guard; they were all made pilots for a reason. Just follow the mans orders." Sigh. "Wish I knew why he had such a hard-on to get that one kid, though."

There was a chuckle. "I heard that the kid messed up his brother, permanent like."

A low whistle could barely be heard. "Yeah, that'll do it. Come on, we're done here for now." The two voices faded as their owners walked off, discussing what their boss would do to that one kid. Duo felt his blood begin to boil as his anger grew.

"See Di, told you it wasn't him." Duo kept his voice falsely cheerful, anger held in a tight leash.

'_I know, I know. It was just…'_

"A shock to see him again," Duo finished for her. "And guys, stop staring. It's rude." He spun around, chuckling as each recovered from the shock; well, except for Howard who was used to their one-sided conversations. "If you're going to be around for a while then you'll have to get used to it. Diana's not going anywhere."

Quatre ran a hand through his hair, fluffing his bangs. "We, uh, figured that out from what we've been able to read in your journal, Duo." His eyes begged his friend to understand why they invaded his privacy.

One of Duo's eyebrows rose as he watched the Wing pilot out of the corner of his eye. "So, just how much were you able to decrypt, 'Ro?"

"All of it. I had just finished when Diana warned us." Heero looked away, successfully hiding his embarrassment; at least all except the strange braided boy were fooled. "We haven't read all of it yet."

Mentally filing away the 'we' part, Duo's other eyebrow joined its twin as they climbed up Duo's forehead. "I'm impressed Heero. Only one month to figure that file out." He grinned, eyes twinkling mischievously. "Guess we'll have to work harder next time, huh Di?"

Wufei snorted, interrupting whatever Diana was saying. "One month to crack one file and you're praising him?" He eyed Heero. "I'd almost think your reputation was inflated if I hadn't seen you in action before."

"Well, that was a backhanded compliment if I ever heard one. You didn't tell them, did you 'Ro?"

"No. I saw no reason to." Heero met Wufei's gaze, his own eyes betraying nothing. Wufei arched an eyebrow, daring Heero to continue.

"Ease up Wuffie." Duo chuckled as the Chinese teenager bristled. "The file wasn't protected by just one encryption." Duo sat back, a smirk dancing on his lips as everyone puzzled over this latest bit of news.

'_Don't leave them hanging too long Duo. We still need to get to our Gundams.'_

'Aw, let me have some fun Di! I've been cooped up for a month; I need to get some action here!'

Diana chuckled, her laughter echoing in their shared mind. _'Duo, you are a pervert.'_ She sat back, watching from one corner as he figured out what he had said.

"Duo, just how many layers…" Quatre's voice trailed off as he stared at his friend. "Duo, why are you blushing?"

Mentally cursing Diana, her laughter still ringing in his ears, Duo ducked his head down, watching from under the cover of his bangs. "Not important Quat. Anyways, journal, yeah." Briskly rubbing his traitorous cheeks, Duo tried to get his thought in order. "Damnit Di, quit laughing!" he muttered, Quatre and Heero catching his words. "Okay, here's the thing. See, every month Diana would create a new cipher for me to use on my journal. She thought I was using it on the whole file. What I was really doing was using it on the parts I wanted to keep heavily protected and then using it for any new entries."

Wufei paled as he realized what the pilot of Deathscythe had done. "You mean that Yuy had a patchwork of,"

"Twelve," Duo supplied, helpfully. His grin was back in place as his cheeks lost their sudden color.

"A patchwork of twelve different encryption," Wufei choked out, unable to finish.

Trowa shook his head in amazement. "Heero, I'm surprised you didn't get more frustrated than you did."

Heero rotated one shoulder, shrugging off the compliment. "It was a worthy challenge."

"Speaking of challenges," Duo half turned in his chair, keeping an eye on Heero and Quatre, "do we have a plan? And did you bring my laptop?"

Heero walked back to the entrance of the room, fishing both computers out of his bag. Behind him, Quatre was questioning the chestnut-haired teenager.

"Duo, I need to know if you and Diana can switch back and forth." Quatre waited, plans forming and changing in his mind as he waited for the answer.

Duo sat back, his eyes vacant as he focused inwards. 'Well Di? Do you think you can come out?'

Diana sighed. _'I was the one to call them over here. It took me a while to realize it, but they are people I can trust. Even Sally, though I haven't been given as much time to study her as I would have liked.'_

Duo smiled. 'That is good to hear. Shall we try?'

'_Alright.' _A hushed silence filled the room as the seconds ticked by. Duo finally cleared his throat. "We can switch, Quatre," he replied in a soft voice, a slight huskiness present that hadn't been there before.

Howard sucked in his breath when he heard Duo speak. "Diana?" he asked as he pulled off his sunglasses.

Diana glanced at Howard, a small smile on her lips. "Well, I was going to have to speak to them anyways; getting the Gundams out without talking would have proven nearly impossible."

A grateful smile graced Quatre's lips as he realized she now trusted them. "Thank you Diana." She ducked her head, hiding behind her bangs, the posture similar but still different from Duo's.

Heero had frozen when he heard Diana speak. 'Now I know why that man liked her voice.' He shuddered inside. 'I could get to like it too,' he wistfully thought. Then scowled at himself. 'Idiot! You have job to do here! Don't get sidetracked!' A small portion of his mind strenuously objected, pointing out all the benefits of Duo and Diana sharing a body. Heero ignored that voice with great effort. "Duo's laptop." He held out the slim case to Diana who took it with a grateful smile.

"Now, let's see if this will work." Her eyes sparkled as she connected the two computers.

'_What?! You mean you don't know what's going to happen!?! That is my laptop; you destroy it and I'm going to…'_ Duo began to sputter, trying to come up with something to threaten Diana with.

"Duo, if something happens to your laptop, it'll happen to mine as well. So we'll both lose. Now relax, I want to see how far I can extend 'Scythes sensors." Diana perched at the edge of the seat, her fingers flying over her keyboard as she firmed the connection between the two machines. They hummed as the two processors began to work as one. Diana's smile widened.

"Hey Boss!" Paul leaned into the room, interrupting what Diana was doing. "Gotta call from a Miss Schbeiker; you wanna take it?"

Diana's fingers hovered over the keys before resuming their action. "Damnit Duo," she scowled, "I told you to remind me to boost Howard's security!" Momentarily stopping, she grabbed her headset and snapped it into place.

'_Well excuse me! You were so focused on finding out who that guy was that you didn't hear me."_ Duo, sitting in that strange shared mental space, stuck out his tongue.

Diana rolled her eyes. "And you call me childish. Howard, if you take this call I'll make sure she gets rerouted the next time." Howard absently nodded as he wandered over to the rooms phone, thanking every god he could that it was an old-fashion voice only model. "Ex. Begin recording phone line activity, full record. End Ex."

Quatre, Wufei and Trowa all looked puzzled at her strange sentence. Working on her notes, Sally arched her eyebrows in surprise, not understanding what the command was for. Heero, leaning against the left wall, was the only one not surprised; in fact, one could say he was pleased. In the background, Howard started to talk to Hilde.

"So you can use the headset to give commands to your computer." Heero kept close watch as Diana continued to type.

"Of course. It helps save time. Instead of typing simple commands and interrupting whatever I'm working on I just speak them." A small crease formed as her eyebrows drew together slightly, the keystrokes slowing down. "Damn, still not enough."

Quatre shifted forward, one hand on the back of her chair, the other braced against the table. "I take it there was a reason the floor plans of the building the Gundams are being hidden in wasn't included in your data."

Diana nodded. "Closed system. I either need to be on site or get enough processing power to use 'Scythes exterior sensors to scan the layout."

"Then how were you able to get the layout of the floor the Gundams are on, with each Gundam noted precisely?" Quatre waited for her reaction. He had already figured out how she had done it and he was fairly certain Heero had worked it out as well. The blond tactician just wondered how the other two pilots would react.

Diana squirmed, saved from answering Quatre's question as Howard ended his call. "Ex. Stop recording. Filter out background noise and all voices currently on file. End Ex."

"Processing," came the response, the electronically generated voice tingy over the earpiece. Diana let out a soft, nearly inaudible sigh as she hunched further over the table.

"Do," she paused, gathering up the courage to continue. "Do you promise not to get angry?"

'_Not asking for a lot are ya?'_ Duo sounded smug, concern shadowing his question.

'Enough Duo.' Diana reached behind, grabbing her braid and started to pluck at the end of it.

"Yes," Heero replied instantly, Quatre echoing him. Wufei and Trowa shared a glance before they also gave similar answers.

"You have found Nataku when the rest of us couldn't. To do other than trust you now would not be honorable." Wufei looked at Duo. 'Diana,' he mentally corrected himself. 'Right now that body, though it looks like Duo, is currently called Diana.'

Howard watched as Diana seemed to curl up further. "Still need me here Kid?" Diana shook her head. "Right, you need anything you holler. I've gotta get back and make sure those slackers are working." He started walking to the door. "Miss Po, you gonna stay here?"

"Mmmm. I think I'll help keep the fireworks to a minimum." Sally continued her note taking, still trying to pinpoint what version of MPD Duo had.

'_You sure you can handle this without Howie?'_ Duo leaned forward, getting ready to take control of their body should he need to.

'I've got to be able to do this, Duo. If I need you to I'll let you take over. Just, let me work this out.'

Duo smiled but didn't back down. _'Alright, but I'm gonna take over if things look like they're getting outa hand.'_

'Thanks.' Diana took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. "I hacked your Gundams."

* * *

A/N 

Ah, cliffhangers; love them, love them! Thanks to everyone who's reviewed so far, I think I know where this story is going now, maybe. Heh, I can pretend, right? Please review; critque's welcome, flames will be used to make smores.


	6. Chapter 6

See chapter 1 for disclaimer.

Chapter Warnings: references to past angst

Quick Key

"blah" speaking

/blah/ typing

'blah' thoughts

_'blah'_ indicates the mind speech of whoever is not in control of Duo's body, ie either Diana or Duo, it can switch

**_"blah"_** Shin speaking

—

A deafening silence greeted her words. Head twisting around to look over his shoulder, Quatre watched his friends.

Wufei stood, stunned, his mouth hanging open as he experienced one shock too many in such a short time. A small part of his mind kept telling him that he should have expected something, after all she'd been able to get into his laptop's mainframe and his Gundam had a similar security system.

Trowa stared at Diana, his first reaction a widening of his eyes. After a few minutes his mouth twitched. Quatre relaxed as Trowa threw back his head and laughed. "Let me guess," he recovered quickly, still smiling, "you got bored."

Diana squirmed, still plucking at the end of her braid. "Well, sorta. I mean, I needed more info on where 'Scythe was held and I wanted to see how much harder it would be to get into your Gundams mainframes versus your laptops. All I accessed was the sensors, I left all the other files alone and I even put some better security in place, you have the new passwords, they were in those info bundles I made. But you really needed improved security 'cause if it was that easy for me to get in then the guys that are trying to get in would succeed in a few more weeks but I …"

"Diana," Quatre gently interrupted her, "you're babbling."

'_Damn Di, and you say I can run at the mouth.'_

Diana giggled. "Cool. Stereo."

Wufei centered himself, pushing his indignation to one side. "I should have expected something like that; Maxwell is in there after all."

Diana turned the chair around, facing the pilots. Her head was still bowed, hiding behind her bangs. "Actually, we're both Maxwell." She took a deep breath and continued. "And I'd like your permission to go back into them and link them all. That should give me the power needed to scan the building and find out more than just one floors layout."

Heero frowned slightly as he considered. "If it's a closed system then won't the signal be detected?"

She shook her head. "They're doing so many tests over there that the airways are teaming with signals. I think most of their people use remote systems to gather their data. My signal won't be located in that mess. Heck, they probably wouldn't even notice the Gundams moving until someone got stepped on."

Heero chuckled dryly. "I take it that is when you did your hacking." She nodded, gaze still fixed on the end of her hair. "Go ahead."

Whipping his head around, Wufei gave the Wing pilot a hard look. "You are willing to let her back into your Gundams system?" Heero nodded, lips twitching. Wufei turned his gaze on Diana, searching her face. "You swear to use only the sensors?" She nodded, momentarily meeting his gaze before dropping her eyes. Wufei let out a sigh, his body relaxing with the exhaled air. "Very well. You have my permission to access Nataku's sensors this one time." Trowa and Quatre quickly followed.

Diana met Wufei's eyes once more. "Thank you for not getting angry."

Wufei pulled out one of the chairs, gracefully dropping into it. "Getting angry would serve no purpose right now and we need the data those sensors can provide."

Diana turned back to the linked laptops, typing furiously. The sounds seemed to blend as keys were rapidly struck. "Sandrock linked. Alton linked. Heavyarms linked. Wing Zero linked. Extending sensors. Gentlemen we have contact."

Duo snickered. _'Now who's been watching too many old movies?'_

"You have. And you forced me to watch them with you." Diana concentrated, using her computer to search while Duo's had all the data dumped into it. She silently thanked him for clearing the needed memory. Her headset chimed, the secondary task complete. "Ex. Play back remaining audio record. End Ex." A click, then the file started to play. "Duo, could you please listen and find out if it's only that Hilde girl speaking?"

'_Sure thing.'_ She felt him reach, taking control of that ear.

Trowa watched as Diana and Duo worked. "So that's how you managed to do so much."

"Hmmm?"

'_What's he talking about Di? And yeah, it's only Hil's voice left.'_

"You share that body but you can split functions amongst yourselves." Trowa looked over at Sally. "I've never heard of that happening."

Sally closed her notebook with a snap. "Neither have I. And what I've seen here does not match anything that's been written about multiple personalities." She sighed. "Well, except for one thing; one of the other personalities is of the opposite gender. But otherwise…" she shrugged as she watched Diana, puzzled. "If anything it seems closer to possession."

Diana stiffened, her hands pausing. "Shin?" Quatre backed away at her strangled whisper. Her eyes widened, hands now clutching the edge of the table, bracing herself against … something. "No Shin! Not now damnit! We have a mission!" Her hands clenched, nails biting into the wood leaving small gouges. "Ex. Disconnect. Level one lockdown! End Ex!" She screamed the commands just before she was slammed back in the chair, tipping it over backwards and dumping her body to the floor. She landed in a heap, limbs splayed out, a puppet with its strings cut.

Quatre stared at the body that had landed near him, for once uncertain what to do. Wufei jumped to his feet as Diana yelled, his chair flying back to slam into the wall. Both Trowa and Heero tensed, ready to act. They all waited, anxious. After a few minutes the body on the floor began to stir, gathering itself together before standing up. The head languidly rose, eyes closed, mouth curled in a smirk. Quatre's hand slowly rose to rub the area over his heart as he backed away. He whispered one word, shattering the strained silence. "Shinigami."

The smirk widened, eyes still closed. His head continued to rise until fully upright. Then the eyes opened, locking on Quatre, their violet depths swirling. Quatre backed up a step, the anger shown in those eyes was barely restrained. Shinigami glanced around the room, taking in everything. His eyes flashed as he gazed at Heero, anger growing at the sight. After a brief moment he continued his scan of the room, finishing with his gaze locked on Sally. Then he spoke.

"**_You will cease your line of speculation. Never mention it again to either Duo or Diana."_** He didn't say what would happen to her if she did. Sally shivered as the icy, nearly inhuman voice washed over her.

Quatre stared at Shinigami, the pieces snapping together. 'That is Duo's body, yet it also hosts the soul of Diana and the spirit of Shinigami. But … how?' "Shinigami." Quatre mentally flinched as the strange gaze swung back in his direction. "We need to know what happened. If not, what is to stop us from figuring it out without you around?"

Shinigami's smirk grew to a cruel grin. **_"What makes you think I'm tied to this body?"_**

Quatre raised his chin, meeting Shin's gaze. "And what makes you think that we haven't already figured out what happened, if not how and why." A small, triumphant grin appeared and disappeared as Shinigami realized what Quatre alluded to. "Will you tell us how and why Diana's soul came to share Duo's body?"

His eyes narrowed as he considered the blonde's words, lips pressed together. **_"Neither Duo nor Diana is to learn of this. Anyone who cannot make that vow had best leave now."_** He grinned again when no one moved. **_"Then I accept your oaths."_** He raised his arms, hands stretched out, palms up. His eyes half closed as he began to whisper.

None of them recognized the language he used as Shinigami continued to chant. Then simultaneous expletives of pain sounded throughout the room as drops of blood were ripped from their bodies, one drop from all the major chakra points. Sally and the former pilots watched with varying degrees of fascination, horror and pain as the blood floated through the air to hover over Shinigami's hands, swirling in ever tighter spirals. The blood coalesced into a deep red stone, dropping into Shinigami's hand as he finished his chant. He held the stone up, examining it in the light for any flaws. Satisfied, he snapped his fingers, the stone vanishing.

"**_Break your oath and you die."_** The violet eyed being righted the overturned chair before sitting back down. His smirk stayed in place as he observed the five other people in the room. **_"Sit down. This will take a while."_** He leaned back, propping his feet up on the table, ankles crossed. Wufei retrieved his chair, placing it back as he sat down. Sally sat on his right, placing Wufei between herself and Shinigami. Quatre walked around to sit opposite of Sally, Heero sitting down at his right, across from Wufei. Trowa remained where he was, leaning against the wall, standing slightly behind Shinigami.

Shin glanced at the four sitting, ignoring Trowa. **_"First, forget everything you know, or think you know, about the afterlife, souls and spirits. There is no ultimate Heaven, Hell, Nirvana, or any other place where souls receive their reward."_** He paused. **_"There is no reward in death."_**

"Then what's …" Sally began.

Shin held up a hand, silencing her. **_"Just listen. I said there was no reward, not in death. Rather, a person's reward or punishment is given during their next life. Good karma begets a good life the next time around while bad karma, well …"_** He shrugged, still smirking. **_"That person can expect nearly everything in their life to go wrong in some way, shape or form."_** His smirk faded as he frowned. **_"There are exceptions."_**

He started to tap his fingers on the arm of the chair. **_"A prime example is Duo and Diana. Or Meilan."_** Shin flashed a smirk at Wufei. **_"She's still with you and is refusing her journey. Guess she wants to travel with you when you finally die. But Duo and Diana …"_** Shin shook his head. **_"For one thing they're twins. Or rather they were supposed to be twins. During their mother's pregnancy an … accident happened and Diana's body died. Her soul, however, did not move on. Even at that early stage they had come to rely on eachother. Duo's soul allowed Diana's to enter his body and they've been sharing ever since. I didn't meet them until after Duo had been born."_**

Shin rubbed the bridge of his nose. **_"There is a … government for lack of a better term, that tracks the wandering souls and starts them on the journey to either be reborn or made into agents. A soul can only become an agent if certain criteria have been met. I am one of those agents, a shinigami. Not the Shinigami. If I was you would all be dead now; no one living can be in his presence. I was sent to find out what had happened to Diana's soul since it had not appeared as … expected."_** He sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose again. **_"Didn't notice it until the brother'd been born; sometimes I wonder what the people in records do,"_** he muttered.

He cleared his throat before continuing. **_"As I said, I didn't meet Duo until after he had been born. Specifically a week after. By that time it was too late to separate their souls; if I had tried to take Diana's then Duo would have died."_** He scowled, glare unfocused, his eyes fixed on some distant point. **_"There has never been a case like this. After I told my … boss what had happened, he consulted Lord Thanatos. The Lord decided to allow the two souls to continue to share this body, with me watching to make sure Duo lived out his full life. Which has not been easy with two lifetimes worth of bad karma being revisited on one body. Never mind what happens when a shinigami stays in the living realm for too long."_** He shook his head. **_"And the poor kids wonder why."_** He stretched his arms before folding them behind his head. **_"So that is the how and why."_**

Quatre blinked as he processed the information. Or tried to anyways.

Heero leaned forward, palms flat on the table. "So you're telling us that all the times that Duo has escaped being killed, you were the one saving him." Shin nodded, hands still clasped behind his head. "And just how do you know when Duo has lived his 'full life'? Who are you to judge when it's time for him to die?"

Shin gave Heero a measured look. **_"I'm not the one who decides that. And when it is time to give up this post then I will be informed. Since that hasn't happened yet I'll keep preventing Duo's body from dieing."_**

Sally leaned forward, placing one arm on the table. "Why didn't you want them to know the truth?"

"I think I know," Trowa spoke up. All but Shin looked his way. "I'm sure that Duo and Diana have both done their own research on multiple personalities and realized that they just don't match. But how would they react if they learned that Diana was really dead and Duo had been holding her here? Or rather, that both of them refused to leave the other. Duo is already convinced that everyone around him will die soon, especially if he gets too close to them. For him to find out that even his twin sister had suffered the same fate before they had even been born …" Trowa shook his head. "That would destroy him."

"**_And now you understand why none of this can be mentioned."_** Shin cocked his head to one side, listening. **_"Ah, Duo is beginning to wake up. No other questions? Good."_** He didn't wait for anyone to speak up. **_"Then until we meet again."_** Shin grinned, his body relaxing as his eyes closed.

A few seconds later the eyes opened back up, their natural cobalt color restored. Duo blinked as he looked around, then groaned. "He did it again. Damnit Shin! Stop fucking taking over like that!" Duo paused, listening to the reply. "Whatever. I don't suppose any of you will tell me what was so important?" He looked to each of them, hopeful, craning his head back to catch Trowa's eyes. He sighed at the determined looks in their eyes. "Didn't think so." He gazed moodily at the linked laptops. "And I can't do anything with those."

Heero tapped the table near the laptops. "You don't know what her codes are?"

"For a level one lockdown, no way. She's probable got a voice recognition as one of the many security layers. And I have no idea how integrated she made the two laptops. Otherwise I'd just disconnect them and use my codes to get into mine." Duo flopped back in the chair, crossing his arms. "You could at least wake her up, Shin, since you were the one to put her to sleep."

"If he can't wake her up, how long will it take her to waken on her own?" Quatre looked at the tabletop, brow lightly creased, eyes flitting back and forth as plans formed.

"Anywhere from half an hour to a full day. She really doesn't react well to Shin taking over like that." Duo sighed as he sat back up. "Sorry guys. I know she was dumping all the data into mine but …" His voice trailed off as his eyes unfocused. A grin split his face. "Well, good morning sleepyhead!"

'_Shut up Duo. I really don't want to hear it. Disconnect your laptop and use your codes. It'll be fine. Wake me back up when there's a plan.'_ Diana curled up in their shared psyche, falling into a natural slumber.

Duo rapidly blinked. "And there she goes again." He shrugged. "Ah well." Duo disconnected his computer, starting it the moment it was freed. He hummed as he worked, unlocking his system. "So what's the basic plan, Q?" Duo asked as he called up the data.

"We'll be splitting into two teams. Trowa, Wufei, and myself in one, you and Heero in the other. Was Diana able to get the floor plans?"

Duo grinned. "Yup, the whole thing, including the security grid. Hang on a sec, I'll show you." He pressed a button on the side of the table, a section of the top sliding open. Taking the cable used to link the two computers, Duo plugged his laptop into the table.

"Maxwell, just what are you doing?" Wufei tried to make sense of the braided boy's actions.

Duo's grin widened as he winked at Wufei. "Just watch. I've wanted to show this to you guys, and lady," he half bowed to Sally, "for a while now." Trowa calmly strode over to stand between Duo and Wufei.

"You built this table?" Trowa ran a hand along his section, his sensitive fingers not finding anything.

"Designed it," Duo corrected as he typed a command in. "The hardware part; Di made the software. And this, my fellow pilots, is where our dear companions are being held against their will." The table lit up.

"A holographic display?!" Wufei's jaw dropped.

Quatre grinned. "It's perfect." He leaned forward, forearms resting on the table as he studied the image, making small noises in the back of his throat.

"Deathscythe's cloaking system is along the same lines, isn't it?" Heero glanced at the grinning L2 boy.

"Yeah, this is sorta the, umm, prototype. Does it have what you need Quat?"

"Yes Duo, it does." Quatre stood up. "Alright, here's the plan."

—

A/N

Yes, I know, another cliffhanger. I'd say I'm sorry but, well, that's just how this chapter ended up! So now people know just what's up with Duo, Diana and Shinigami. I'm kinda getting a feel for where this story is going, but I still have no clue how it's going to end. As always, please review; critiques welcomed and all flames will be used to make yummy smores!


	7. Chapter 7

See chapter 1 for disclaimer.

Chapter Warnings: none really ... I think ...

Quick Key

"blah" speaking

/blah/ typing

'blah' thoughts

_'blah'_ indicates the mind speech of whoever is not in control of Duo's body, ie either Diana or Duo, it can switch

—

Duo crouched in the air duct, wondering just how he kept ending up in these positions.

'_Because we're the best at sneaking into places?'_

'Thanks' he mentally snorted. 'That helps a lot. Really.'

'_Then stop complaining. We have a job to do.'_

Duo didn't bother to respond, creeping further down the small tunnel. 'I don't know which would be more distracting; having to look at Heero's butt or knowing that he's looking at mine.'

'_Well, right now I'd say both. We're almost at the last one.'_

Duo grunted, maneuvering around until he pulled the small pack off his back and took the slim laptop out. He gave control of their body over to Diana.

She typed quickly, breaking through the last firewall. "I'm in," she whispered into the headset. She continued to frantically type, planting various programs into the buildings computer system. A few minutes later she heard Heero make his way over. He had been following behind Duo, planting bombs in each area as Diana broke that security layer. Diana let Duo take over, closing her laptop before Heero got too close.

Heero slid up to the braided boy. "Ready?"

Duo nodded. "Let's go get our Gundams back."

They slithered through the ducts, only pausing when there was movement below. The bombs Heero had planted were rigged to a remote, one that would only be triggered once the five of them were inside their Gundams. With the amount of confusion already in the large hanger from the hurried packing, the pilots would have little to no problem reaching their Gundams. The bombs were to open a path out, one that left the bulk of the building standing.

Heero crouched by a grate, studying the activity he could see. The path the two of them followed had led them to an area directly behind their Gundams. Heero felt his chest tighten slightly in anticipation. 'Well Zero, you told me of this possibility. What else will you show me now that I know the truth about Duo?' He noticed a lull in the activity and tensed, ready to spring out. The grate had already been discretely loosened; one swift kick and it would open.

Duo noticed the slight quiver in Heero's muscles and braced himself, curling his legs to spring. Only seconds later Heero kicked, the grate clattering to the floor, the two of them following immediately after. They split, each heading to their Gundam, pistols out as they ran, taking down whatever guard they could. From across the large expanse, Duo could hear a similar gunfight. His eyes lit up, glowing an eerie dark blue, his lips curling up, the sinister expression scattering as many people as his gun.

Heero raced to Wing Zero, absently noting Duo's progress. The braided boy had informed them all about the present Diana had left them; she had placed copies of Deathscythe's cloaking system into the other four Gundams. While it wouldn't work as well as 'Scythe's (the others just didn't have the correct hardware) it was an edge. And even though the war was over, they would still need every edge they could get.

Reaching Wing Heero began to leap up the mammoth suit, easily scaling it without the aid of the winch. Inputting the first of the new passwords he entered the cockpit, already starting the systems. "I'm in Wing."

They had agreed to radio silence, save for a few key phrases. Heero listened as all systems went online and active, waiting to hear the others check in.

"Sandrock is under my control." Quatre checked in a couple of seconds later, Wufei and Trowa right behind him.

The seconds ticked by. 'Come on Duo, what's taking so long?' If they didn't get all five out then the mission was a failure. Heero didn't want to think about what this failure would mean to the fragile peace. Almost a full minute passed before Duo's voice echoed over the headset.

"'Scythe is ready to rock." Duo's voice finally crackled over the headset.

"Second phase." Quatre paused. "Until we meet again."

Heero pulled out the remote, depressing the small button. Explosions ripped through the building, debris falling all over. Wing moved the moment the bombs went off, Deathscythe only seconds behind. While Duo had assured all of them that he and Diana could split functions without jeopardizing the others task, Quatre insisted on Heero taking point. Heavyarms and Alton would prevent anyone from following while 'Scythe and Sandrock dealt with anything that might slip by Wing. With very little effort they made it to the surface.

"Activating cloak." Heero paused before heading out, switching over to the flight form. His image blurred on Duo's monitor before vanishing.

Duo let out a breath as he watched the others disappear. 'Looks like it worked.' He engaged the active cloak and flew out, following the path he and Heero had worked out. Trowa, Quatre and Wufei were heading towards one of the Maganacs bases while Heero and Duo went for an old hideout Heero knew. Once the uproar died down, the pilots would meet up back at the mansion.

—

Sally raced through the streets, praying she would reach the newly founded Preventers headquarters in time. The former pilots had given her a slight lead time, but they weren't about to alter their timeframe for her. She made it into Une's office moments just as the first report came in. Sally barged in, slamming her hands down on Une's desk, shutting down the phone as she did so.

Lady Une stared at Sally, her face impassive. "We have a situation; this had better be good."

"It's about this situation. They found their Gundams and are taking them back."

"What!" Une half rose out of her chair before sinking back down.

"Just listen, please! They sent a message for you to relay to the world, with the request that you keep their names out." Sally dug into her vest, fishing out a small disk. She held it out, drawing her hand back after Une snatched the disk.

Lady Une popped the disk into her computer, frowning slightly when only static appeared. A synthesized voice soon crackled over the speakers.

"The Gundams were created to bring peace and freedom to the colonies. That goal has been achieved. However, there are those who would use the Gundams to enforce their own version of peace. We, the pilots of the Gundams, cannot allow our weapons to be used in such a manner. We will keep our weapons safe until such time as they are needed again. We fought for this peace and we will oppose all that threaten it. We are watching."

Une leaned back as the short video ended, rubbing the bridge of her nose. "We should never have taken the Gundams from them in the first place," she whispered.

"No," Sally agreed. "They stayed true to their goal throughout the war, no matter what happened." Sally turned Une's phone back on. "You should be receiving some data soon about the person that was holding the Gundams for us. Courtesy of Diana. It seems that this person had his own plans for the suits and their pilots. That should be more than enough to bring him down."

Lady Une nodded, putting her resources to work.

—

Duo leaned back in the chair, letting out a sigh of relief. "It worked." He glanced at one of the monitors, tracking the movements of the other four. "You didn't tell me we could track them Di."

'_Any edge, right? Besides, this way if something happens we'll know where they are.'_

"I guess." Duo watched as three dots blinked off, the suits going past 'Scythes sensors. "Une's going to be pissed at us all."

'_But it's her fault he ended up with them. She won't be given another chance to make that mistake. I think she knows that.'_ Diana stretched, a pleased grin on her face. _'And it was fun.'_

Duo chuckled. "Yeah, it was. It was nice to relax for those months but …"

'_Exactly. I told you before, we need to keep active. Now just think of all the improvements we'll have time to do!'_

Duo laughed, clutching his stomach, thankful for auto pilot.

Diana sniffed. _'Fine then. Be that way.'_ She went off to a corner to pout. Duo spent the remainder of the trip trying to convince her to stop.

—

A/N

Well, another chapter done, another step closer to the end of this fic. I think there will be one, maybe two more chapters to this. (sob) Guess I should have planned it out a little better. Ah well. Now, for something that I rarely do: Krylancelo, thanks for the tip about Bleach; I actually hadn't heard of it before you mentioned it but now that I've read the first manga, you're right. They are kinda similar. Eerie. (shiver) As always, please review, critiques welcome; all flames will be used to make hot chocolate!


	8. Chapter 8

See chapter 1 for disclaimer.

Chapter Warnings: mild angst

Quick Key

"blah" speaking

/blah/ typing

'blah' thoughts

_'blah'_ indicates the mind speech of whoever is not in control of Duo's body, ie either Diana or Duo, it can switch

—

Two days had passed since they took back their Gundams. Heero kept close watch as the reactions poured in; it seemed the populous in general were quite happy to have the Gundams and their pilots watching over them. There was some grumbling when no names were disclosed but that had been anticipated. The telling reactions came from the underworld; the number of organized crimes had severely dropped. Heero smirked when he found that out. 'Well, the rats are smart after all.' He lifted the cup of tea to his mouth as Duo walked into the kitchen, arguing with Diana.

"No, no, no! We need to rewire that console if you're going to install that program! I told you that before!" Duo waved absently. "Hi Heero."

'_And I told you I ran a sim on my computer and it will work!_' She stomped a foot, the sound echoing. _'If you'll let me show you,'_ her voice dripped with feigned patience.

"Problems D?" Heero leaned against the kitchen table, sipping his tea.

"You can't sim all the specs Di! Sure, the program will run fine on that console but it's interaction with the others …" Duo stumbled as Heero's words caught up with him. "Um, Heero? What did you just call me?"

"Actually it was directed at both of you. If you would rather I not call the two of you that …" Heero's voice trailed off.

'_I like it. It's easier then calling both our names.'_ Diana shrugged. _'Your call.'_

Duo grinned, his eyes lighting up. "Naw, it's cool." He hopped up onto a counter, legs idly swinging. "Di wants to upgrade one of 'Scythes programs but I keep telling her we need to rewire to do it. She won't listen to me." He rolled his eyes as Diana made a comment. "See what I mean?"

Heero laughed. It surprised him how easily he had adapted to the "new" Duo; even more astonishing was how freely Diana talked around him. Granted, she was no where near the conversationalist Duo was but she held her own. "Would you like me to take a look and give a third opinion?" he offered.

Duo momentarily froze, his face blank as the two internally debated. He suddenly blinked then nodded. "All right. Everything is in 'Scythe." He hopped down, striding out the door, braid swinging. "Thanks 'Ro, we really appreciate this."

"It's no problem," Heero assured them as he followed, letting the braided teens chatter wash over him as they walked. 'Follow my emotions hmm? What if I can't figure out what they're trying to tell me?' Heero shook his head, clearing out the distracting thoughts as they approached the tunnel to the hanger.

In short time they reached the Gundams, both scaling the scaffolding to reach the open cockpit of Deathscythe. Duo maneuvered around, making room for Heero. "This console," he pointed to the one on the immediate left of the chair. Heero took a closer look, not as familiar with the newer Gundams layout.

"This one controls the sensors and cloaking, right?" Duo nodded as he reached around the chair, pulling Diana's laptop out.

"Di made an improvement to the operating program that will expand the range but it has to be manually entered; that's why she didn't upload it." He turned the screen so both of them could watch. "She did beautiful work on the codes just …" Duo shrugged. "Di, show him."

With a faint shudder Diana took control, pulling up the coding of the old and improved programs. "This is the area I really worked on," she scrolled down to let Heero see the difference.

Heero raised an eyebrow as he read through the changes. They were small but would have a great impact on the range. Enough of an impact that he wished they had been in place earlier. "How is the console currently wired?"

Diana pulled up those specs, her hands minutely shaking. 'You didn't go and change anything, did you?'

Duo took a quick peek. _'Nope, that's right.'_ He sank down, legs crossed as he sat. _'Relax Di, you're doing fine.'_

"I don't see a problem with this console but," Heero held up a hand, stopping Diana's triumphant gloat, "I'll need to see the schematics of the other consoles to see if there might be a problem there."

Duo mentally grumbled as Diana pulled up the other files, the shaking in her hands growing. She pulled back once done, Heero moving to increase the distance between them, at least as much as the small cockpit allowed.

'_Don't push yourself, just relax.'_

'I don't get it,' she mentally wrung her hands. 'I can talk to him and be in the same room but … this is just too close!' Her breath started to come faster as she tried to suppress the rising panic. 'I know he'll never do anything but …'

'_I'm taking over, enough for today.'_ Diana gratefully turned control back to Duo, forcing herself to calm down now that she was safe.

Heero had looked up the moment Diana began to hyperventilate, ready to spring past her and out of Deathscythe. In the two days they had shared the safe house, Diana'd had three full out panic attacks and numerous close calls. Neither Duo nor Shin blamed Heero for triggering them; both realized her anxiety stemmed from the attack long ago that had taken her trust of other people. Heero relaxed when the breathing evened out. "Duo, how's Diana doing?"

The braided teen chuckled wryly. "Damn 'Ro, just how do you do that?" He didn't wait for an answer. "She's doing better, lasted longer than I thought she would. So," he moved forward, peering at the computer display, "what's your opinion?"

Heero ran a hand over his arms, a nervous gesture he had picked up from Odin. "Well, you're both right and you're both wrong."

Duo stared at Heero, his face neutral. "Heero, we can not be right and wrong at the same time."

"Let me explain." He pointed at the various open programs. "With the way this console is currently wired the altered program will function with no problems. That is where Diana is correct. However, you will need to rewire and that's where she's wrong and you're correct. This console won't need to be reworked but all the others will and that's where you're wrong." Heero leaned back to give Duo a better view of the screen.

"Well damn. Sorry Di, I should have paid closer attention. Knew my gut was telling me the right thing, just the wrong place."

'_Forgiven. And I should have remembered that you're almost always right when it comes to hardware.' _She giggled. _'Mark it down, we both apologized.'_

Duo rolled his eyes. "That's it Di, no more old comedies for you; you're getting cut off."

Heero chuckled as he shook his head, amused at the shows the two put on. "You're going to need help."

Duo grinned, his eyes lighting up. "You offering?"

Diana giggled again, fully recovered from her small panic attack. _'You wish he was offering!'_ Duo felt his face flame.

Both eyebrows rose as Heero watched Duo turn beet red. "Do I even want to know what she said?" Duo emphatically shook his head, not trusting his voice just yet. A few seconds later his cheeks returned to their normal color.

"I'll, uh, get the tools. Be back in a bit." Duo backed out of Deathscythe's cockpit, taking Diana's laptop with him.

Heero shook his head, wondering what Diana had said that had caused such a reaction. The two spent the remainder of the day working on 'Scythe, Duo chatting away about nothing in particular.

—

Diana snapped awake, not moving as she recovered from the nightmare. She glanced at the clock by the bed and sighed. 'I'm not going to be able to go back to sleep now.' She listened, ears straining to catch every sound. 'Heero's asleep, so is Duo and Shin.' She sat up, quickly getting out of bed, quietly leaving the bedroom. Diana wished yet again for a larger safe house, one that had at least two bedrooms.

'I suppose I could always sleep on the sofa. As long as Duo agrees.' She sighed again as she walked down the short hallway. 'No chance of that while he's mooning after Heero.' Diana shook her head as she entered the living room, wondering if Heero had noticed all the clues. Wondering if he would act on them or would continue to ignore them. 'I don't want him to ignore Duo.' Diana froze where she stood, contemplating that thought. 'I want him and Duo together. But do I want him as well?'

She quietly walked over to the window, taking her laptop with her. While starting the computer she thought about the realization, trying to figure out what to do about it. Diana shook her head, clearing it as she focused on her computer. A quick scan showed an email from Quatre. Diana opened it, a smile forming as she read it. In three days he, Trowa and Wufei would return to the mansion. He politely requested her and Heero's presence. 'More like an order,' she smirked, typing out her response.

Diana stared at her screen, unsure what to do now. A true smile blossomed when she remembered the last file on the headset, the one created during the lockdown. 'I can't believe I forgot about that.' She shook her head in disbelief, braid thumping against her back. Diana quickly pulled the audio file up, unlocking and decrypting it. She hummed as she worked, thankful she had just added that step to the lockdown procedure. The sounds from the keyboard filled the cramped living room as Diana worked. After a few minutes the file was ready. She put on the headset and began listening.

—

Heero held still, wondering what had awoken him. Then he heard the clacking of a keyboard. 'Probably Diana; Duo would watch something if he was awake.' When the sound stopped Heero got out of bed and quietly made his way to the living room. He wouldn't be able to sleep anyways until he determined everything was secure. He walked into the living room, at first not seeing anyone. After a quick scan he found Diana sitting beside the window, watching him, her headset on.

"I'm sorry," her soft voice reverberating through him, "I didn't mean to wake you."

Heero waved a hand, dismissing her apology as he kept himself under control. "Any unusual noise will wake me, just training."

Diana nodded, understanding perfectly well. She was very surprised that Duo had not woken up yet.

Heero started to ask why she was awake when he paused, brow crinkled in confusion. He could hear a faint voice over the headset, one he had heard recently. By the time he recognized the voice it was too late.

—

Diana absently looked up as Heero entered, nodding in greeting when he found her. She turned most of her attention back to the recording; Shin was explaining to the others about karma. A minute later she felt her heart freeze as the truth was finally revealed.

She and Duo were sister and brother; twins.

She was dead.

"No," she whispered, tears forming as the recording played on. "Oh god no."

—

A/N

Ah, another chapter writer, only one more to go. But don't worry! There will be a continuation to this story; I just need to plan the next story thread out better than I did this one. Any ideas people wish to give me are welcome and you will be credited if I use it. This has been quite fun to write and I'll probable keep with this alternate universe, but expect each thread to be it's own separate story! Anyways, please review, critiques welcome, all flames will be used to make hot chocolate (it's way too cold outside to make smores!)


	9. Chapter 9

See chapter 1 for disclaimer.

Chapter Warnings: mild angst

Quick Key

"blah" speaking

/blah/ typing

'blah' thoughts

_'blah'_ indicates the mind speech of whoever is not in control of Duo's body, ie either Diana or Duo, it can switch

—

Heero gently removed the headset, file still mindlessly playing. He moved slowly, trying not to startle Diana. With the same care he lifted the computer off of her lap, placing it on a nearby chair. He knelt before her, sitting on his heels, unsure what to do next. "Diana?"

The word jolted Diana into action, one Heero would never have expected. With a chocked sob Diana lunged forward, wrapping her arms around his neck as she buried her face in his chest, tears freely flowing.

Heero barely managed to stop his initial reaction, holding perfectly still as the braided teen launched at him. Hesitatingly, his arms moved to encircle the quivering form. His left hand gently cradled her head while his right arm circled her waist, holding her steady. "You're not alone."

Her shuddering sobs eased somewhat as he continued to hold her. The minutes passed, her sobs slowing then stopping. Heero waited a few more minutes before saying anything.

"Do you want to talk about it?" He waited but the only answer was Dianas even breathing. She had fallen asleep.

'Now what do I do?' Heero searched his mind for an answer, smiling slightly when the solution became clear. 'So, that's what they were telling me.' He quietly chuckled, shaking his head ruefully. 'And they think I'm the one that always knows what's going on.' Moving carefully, he rearranged Dianas legs, slinging them to one side. With his right arm now hooked under her knees, he slowly stood up, bracing her back with his left arm. Diana stirred as he stood, burying further against him, still asleep.

Heero quickly strode over to the sofa, carefully sitting down then laying down. He arranged their bodies, making sure Diana lay atop him. 'She won't let go but at least this way she'll have an escape. She won't feel trapped.' He mentally sighed. 'Now to convince her as well as Duo.' Diana stirred, interrupting any further musing.

"Thank you." Heero could barely hear her voice. "I'm sorry I …"

"No," Heero cut her off. "You have nothing to apologize for. If anyone should then it's Shin. D, neither of you could have handled the knowledge earlier. Now you can."

"What makes you so sure?" Her grip slackened but she didn't let go.

Heero chuckled, loosening his grip as well. "If you couldn't then you would still be denying it."

Diana laughed weakly, Heero's heart beating faster when he heard it. "You're right. Will," she hesitated, "will you let me tell Duo?"

Heero nodded. "Of course."

"Good." She nuzzled his chest again. "I hope you're comfortable 'cause I really don't feel like moving anytime soon."

Heero chuckled again, gently rubbing her back. "Go to sleep, I'll keep watch." She let out a sigh, her entire body relaxing as she drifted back into slumber. 'Maybe I won't have as much convincing as I thought.' He sorted through his memories, looking at Duo's actions with a new perspective.

—

Une read through the data Diana had provided, wondering just how her team had missed it. 'If he had kept the Gundams, within three months there would be another war.' She shook her head, her mind made up; the pilots would always be welcome in Preventors in whatever position they wanted. A knock provided a welcome interruption. "Come in."

Sally and Noin walked in and over, sitting down in the chairs before Une's desk. Sally spoke first. "We've been contacted by the pilots."

Une put the papers down, shoving the pile to one side. "What did they say?"

"Quatre Winner was the one to actually contact us, ma'am." Noin answered. "He's agreed to be their spokesman should you need to contact them or request statements from them." She crossed her legs, hands clasped around the knee. "He said they will be at the mansion in three days and invites you to join them." She grinned. "Guess they want to see what plans you have for them."

Sally chuckled. "I have a feeling that whatever we do plan they'll just find a way around. Those boys do what they want, when they want and to hell with everyone else."

"Agreed." Une leaned back in her chair. "Any word on Rudolph Mizzer?"

Noin scowled, her foot hitting the ground with a thump as she sat up. "No. That man has vanished. I know he'll turn up again so I've kept the feelers out. You don't just walk away from the empire he's built." Noin watched her superior, eyes narrowed slightly. "Just who is this Diana person and how was she able to get the files she sent to us?"

Une shot a look towards Sally. "Well? You were able to meet her in person."

Sally shifted in her seat, unsure just how much to reveal. "Diana is an alternate personality of Duo Maxwell, pilot of Deathscythe."

Noin gave her partner a hard look. "That's not all."

"No, it's not. But I can't say anything else."

Une watched Sallys face, trying to read it. "Will she help us in the future or was this a one time deal?"

Sally smiled. "I have a feeling she'll be willing to assist us, but on her terms."

"Alright. Keep working any angles you can to locate Mizzer. I'll want the two of you to accompany me when I visit the pilots. Any other issues?"

"Just one thing." Noin leaned forward slightly. "Miss Relena asked me to pass a message on to Heero Yuy; I think the girl is still infatuated although she is getting better."

Her eyebrows drew together as Une considered. "Verbal or written?"

"Both."

Sally snorted. "With the way she was acting I'm surprised she hasn't tried to see him herself."

"She's content to know he's alive; at least she has been. Recent events," Noin gestured at the pile of papers on Unes desk, "have spurred her to act."

"Can the message wait?" Noin nodded. "Very well. Then you can deliver it when we see them. Dismissed." Une pulled the stack of papers back, focusing on her task as her two agents left.

—

Duo stared out the window, still numb. Five hours ago he had woken up to discover his world turned upside down. He had woken up in the living room. He was laying on Heero who was holding him. His eyes felt like they'd shed a lot of tears; Diana stifling her sobs as he woke up. When he pressed Heero for answers, the Wing pilot shook his head, claiming Diana wanted to tell him herself. After waking Diana Duo learned what happened.

He learned what happened when they had been born.

'_I wish I could hug you.'_

Duo shook his head. 'You're still here; that helps.'

'_Maybe, but there is someone else here.'_

Duo kept his head bowed, glancing over at the door under the cover of his bangs. Heero had entered the room once more, his laptop tucked under one arm. 'You think so?'

'_Duo, that is the third time he's entered the room that I've seen. Who knows how many other times he's checked on us.'_

'Do you think…'

'_That you stand a chance?'_ Diana thought carefully before answering. _'Yes, I think you do.'_

Duo turned his gaze back, staring blankly out the window. 'What do you think about him?'

'_Well,'_ she spoke slowly, considering each word. _'I didn't exactly meet him under the best circumstances but he is a nice guy. I think you should go for it.'_

Duo huffed, getting exasperated. He missed Heero's sharp glance. 'Di, we've talked about this before. Both of us have to want the guy. I'm not going to leave you out of this.'

'_And the guy will have to know about the two of us and want both of us; yes I know! Just … give me more time, okay?'_

Duo smiled, resting his fingertips on the windowpane. 'As much time as you need.'

"Feeling better?"

Duo jumped, whirling around, hands automatically going for weapons before he realized who was behind him. "Jesus, Mary, and Joseph! Heero! Give a guy some warning!" He dramatically clutched his chest, hand over his heart.

Heero stood there, thumbs hooked in the loops of his jeans, one eyebrow raised. "Either you're humoring me or I actually managed to sneak up on the self proclaimed Master of Stealth and All Things Sneaky."

"Erm…"

'_You actually called yourself that?!?'_ Diana broke into peals of laughter.

Heero watched the expressions flicker over Duo's face with suppressed relief. 'Thank you, he's over the initial shock. Now comes the difficult part.'

"Okay, Okay! Rub it in why don't you Di! I was kinda distracted and 'Ro got the jump on me. Stop laughing damnit!" He lowered his voice back down, turning his attention to Heero. "You didn't have to help us, Heero, but you did anyways. Thanks." Duo brushed past the dark haired teen as he headed towards the kitchen. At the doorway he paused, one hand resting on the framing. He turned his head, glancing back. "Um, just why did you help us? I mean, we're not in the war anymore so keeping a pilot functioning isn't a priority so …"

Heero had reached Duo by now, having started walking when the braided teen had paused. He likewise paused in the doorway, facing Duo. Duo turned to face him, back braced against the wooden frame. "Do I need a reason to help someone?"

Duo rubbed the back of his neck, confused. "Well, no, just…"

Heero leaned forward, lips brushing against Duo's in a chaste kiss. Heero turned and walked away before Duo could react. At the doorway to the tunnel, he turned back around. "Figure it out, D." He walked through, heading for the Gundams.

Duo stared, mouth gaping as he tried to get his scattered wits back together. "Did that just happen?"

'_Yes.'_ Diana sounded just as shocked. _'And it was for both of us.'_

"Damn." Duo blinked, one hand rising to lightly touch his lips. The moment was ruined by the distinct gurgling of his stomach. "What do you say to getting some grub and trying to figure this whole thing out?"

'_Sounds like a plan.'_ Diana paused, then chortled, trying to suppress more laughter.

"Alright, now what?"

'_Oh, you know. Just realized something rather morbid.'_

Duo banged his head against a wall. "Out with it Di."

'_Do you know what the last line of a traditional marriage vow is?'_ She sounded wistful.

"No, can't say I ever looked those up."

She gave him a small smile. _'Till death do us part.'_

Duo smiled in return, melancholy and happy at the same time. "Yeah Di, till death do us part."

Owari

—

A/N

Well, it's done; at least this arc! There will be a continuation, possibly multiple arcs. BUT, they need to be planned out and I want to finish a few other fics before starting the next one. Many thanks to all my readers and a special thanks to Dark Devotions, PATTY 40, Windy River, ZmajGoddess, camillian, Krylancelo, crazywolfgrrl, EMc2, Lachwen, Shinko Ryusei, and amytiger! See you in the next fic!


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